1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for the transportation and display of various items, and more particularly relating to the transportation, display and care of potted plants, flowers or the like.
The present invention also relates to a container fitted with removable handle means that are also convertible into a pedestal or stand means.
2. Background and Prior Art
The use of potted plants or floral arrangements is widespread among family residences, apartments, offices and commercial buildings as well as among specialized organizations such as churches, hospitals and funeral establishments. In the home environment particularly, it is not uncommon to have many plants of various sizes and varieties located throughout the home.
Providing plants with the proper amount of sunlight is essential for proper care and growth. This may require moving plants from one room to another or out of doors to catch sufficient sunlight at different times of the year. This can be a time consuming and difficult task, particularly when a display must be repeatedly moved between several locations.
Transporting a clay pot and its associated saucer is usually a tedious "one-at-a-time" job even for small size pots and, for the larger sizes, may become a difficult task due to the weight involved. Display devices presently available to hold or contain potted plants consist primarily of woven wooden baskets or various types of tables, shelving, stools and racks not necessarily designed for the specific purpose of displaying or storing plants, or metal stands, some with flourescent light fixtures and some which contain shallow trays to hold several small pots. With the exception of some of the shelving and metal stands, these devices are usually capable of holding only one or maybe two plants. Repair or disposal is often required for these devices due, for instance, to the cracking of the wooden baskets or the paint peeling from or the rusting of the metal stands. Many plants are displayed without using any holding or storage device at all, usually on a flat surface such as a window sill or directly on the floor. This often times results in damage to the surface due to moisture or spillage or pottery stains.
A planting container of woven wire mesh, adapted to be embedded in the ground to protect plant roots and to facilitate transplanting is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,689,017.
Display and storage devices which utilize wire mesh construction are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,180,277 and 1,648,025.
Wire mesh baskets or containers having handles or means to suspend the baskets are generally disclosed in the following U.S. Patent references:
4,149,663 Agar PA1 2,812,875 Buzicky et al PA1 2,635,779 Pfeiffer PA1 2,458,246 Brereton PA1 1,865,533 Lutzke PA1 1,646,716 Wheeler PA1 809,658 Hurlburt PA1 348,988 Miller. PA1 3,608,600 Lehrman PA1 3,595,509 Gilmore PA1 2,724,571 Friedman et al PA1 967,471 Wanamaker PA1 686,006 McConnell.
Prior art collapsible or adjustable stands or supports are generally disclosed in the following U.S. Patent references:
A wire mesh kitchen utensil which can be converted to perform a plurality of domestic functions and which has handles that can be converted to form a stand is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 24,581 to Escaut.
None of these devices, however, are suitable for use as a tote or display device for potted plants or the like as explained above, nor do any teach or suggest the advantageous of the removable and convertible tote handles and display stand of the present invention.